Ethernet Powered Razor Blades
from the yes,-but-how-close-do-they-shave? dept
Yesterday we wrote about the digital electric guitar that used ethernet rather than standard cables. I had assumed that it was just the sound that was piped through the Ethernet, but it sounds like they are using Ethernet for power as well. These days lots of gadget sites talk about cool devices that are powered by USB (my favorite is the USB powered vacuum cleaner), but Cisco is pushing to get more people to start creating Ethernet powered devices, and they're using the electric razor as the perfect example. Of course, I don't know about most people, but I tend to shave in the bathroom, where there usually aren't too many Ethernet cables running. One cool idea, though, is using Ethernet to help keep laptops charged. There isn't enough power to keep a laptop fully running, but it can take some load off the battery, meaning it can keep running for an extra long time. I'm pretty happy ditching all cables and using WiFi, but this might bring back some of the attraction of Ethernet.
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Plug n Play, No Driver Required
for example: http://www.svc.com/usbcowa.html
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Re: Plug n Play, No Driver Required
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Ethernet in bathroom
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Uh, I think you are confused
USB inherently delivers power as part of the wiring spec. Ethernet does not.
"Power over Ethernet" takes advantage of the fact that 100mbit ethernet only uses 2 of the 4 pairs of wires in a cat5 cable. It uses the unused pairs to carry a voltage, and provide power.
Jordan
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Re: Uh, I think you are confused
Turns out 802.3af is basically about the signaling. The a power supplying device negotiates an OK for 802.3af before turning on the juice. Pretty neat.
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